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Talbot · 1926–1935

Talbot 14-45

Talbot 14-45
Photo: Charles01 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source ↗

The Talbot 14-45 also known as Talbot 65 is a luxury car designed by Georges Roesch and made by Clément Talbot Limited in their North Kensington factory and usually bodied by fellow subsidiary of S T D Limited, Darracq Motor Engineering in Fulham. The car made its first appearance at the London Motor Show in 1926.

Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

All Talbot 14-45 data: UK builds, safety, recalls, model years →

Engine

The six-cylinder engine displaces 1,665 cc. The inlet and exhaust manifolds are bolted together and fitted to the left hand side of the block with the 5-jet carburettor bolted to the front end of the inlet manifold. Petrol is delivered from a vacuum tank on the dash supplied from a 14-gallon tank at the back of the car. The overhead valves are operated by pushrods with double valve springs. The rockers must be kept in position if the detachable cylinder head is to be removed. There is forced lubrication throughout the engine. All six cylinders are cast in one piece along with the top half of the crankcase. Sparking plugs, distributor and contacts are on the right side of the engine block. Ignition advance and retard is entirely automatic. A dynamotor (combined dynamo and starter motor) is fitted at the front end of the crankshaft. Engine timing (camshaft) is turned by gear from the crankshaft Cooling water passes through a honeycomb radiator and the airflow is assisted by a fan embodied in the engine's flywheel. Circulation is by thermo-siphon there is no water-pump. Clutch and gearbox are bolted firmly to the engine block, gears are changed by a lever beside the driver's right hand operating in a gate. The clutch is not fully enclosed. Drive is carried to the rear axle by an enclosed propeller shaft. Spherical and universal joints are automatically oiled, there is a central bearing in the torque tube. Final drive is by spiral bevel and the axle is of the half-floating design.

Brakes suspension steering

Steering is by a worm and nut system, its box raised to give a comfortable rake to the steering wheel. There are just the four brakes, one on each wheel . They are not compensated. The brakes are operated by rods. There is a hand lever by the driver's right which controls the rear brakes alone. The aluminium brake shoes are adjusted for wear by a wedge which opens or closes a fulcrum on one end of the shoe. The brake drums are enclosed. The springs are quarter-elliptical each with a shackle at its rear. At the front of the car they are set without camber, held out of centre and slightly inclined to the rear and are fitted with snubber leaves. Shock absorbers are fitted all round.

On the road

When trying out this relatively expensive 5-seater tourer the correspondent of The Times reported he thought the car's design had much to recommend it but could be improved. A four-door five-seat car it is comfortable but the front cushion tends to obstruct the front door. The seat is adjustable. He noted the test car had already travelled 8,000 miles. Its high-speed type engine with only four bearings, he said, is remarkably smooth, it runs sweetly up to 4,000 rpm yet picks up easily in top from almost a standstill. Over 55 mph increased speed takes time to build. The indirect gears were noisy. Except for some clutch slip when climbing hills under a heavy load all controls worked well and smoothly. He also reported that the suspension let the car bounce too much suggesting slacker tyres and softer shock absorbers might be a useful improvement.

Georges Roesch's high-speed engine

The 14-45 was designed and put into production at short notice. Clément-Talbot was no longer profitable, their cars were not selling. The board of directors established a one-model policy. In the autumn of 1925 Roesch began to contemplate suitable designs. His difficulties included the outmoded plant and machinery at his disposal so he involved all employees right to the shop floor. Six months later in the spring of 1926 he took his detailed proposal to Louis Coatalen, chief engineer of Clément-Talbot's parent company S T D Motors and designer of then current Talbot 12-30. Roesch wanted to build a car as good as Rolls-Royce's Twenty but of half the engine size and for quarter of the Twenty's price. He foresaw his greatest difficulty would be to achieve the desired refinement for the price. An important part of the design was the development of a sufficiently powerful engine. To accomplish this the new engine was to run at higher speeds and higher compression than ever before. Roesch's design was striking for its simplicity and economy. Part of Roesch's solution was the use of then unfashionable (noisy, unreliable) overhead valves with pushrod actuation allowing smaller combustion chambers and, with that, higher compression. Otherwise much of the six-cylinder engine and chassis had the dimensions and shapes of the old four-cylinder Talbot 12-30. In fact little remained unchanged following Roesch's careful revision. It even extended to a revised (cheaper to build) classic Talbot radiator shape. Everything had been revised and reworked. The new engine was designed to produce maximum useful output at 4,500 rpm whereas with the 12-30 maximum output was reached at just 3,000 rpm. To save Clément-Talbot's business the whole new vehicle had to be reliable. An extra bearing was

Sections adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); text is shortened. Read the full article for the complete history and citations.

Specifications

name
Talbot 14-45, Talbot 65
Manufacturer
Clément-Talbot Limited Kensington London W10
Production
14-45, AD Oct 1926–Oct 1927 2021, AF Oct 1927–Oct 1928 1999, AG Oct 1928–Oct 1931 2999, AQ Oct 1929–Spring 1932 1002, AU Oct 1931–Oct 1932 430, 65, AU65 Spring 1932–Oct 1932 320, AX65 Oct 1932–mid 1935 2080
Model years
1932–1935
Assembly
North Kensington London
Class
luxury
Body style
coachbuilt saloon, Weymann fabric saloon, 2 or 3-seater with Dicky seat, 5-seater tourer, chassis for coach builder
Layout
FR
Engine
1665 cc I6
Transmission
AX preselector gearbox
Wheelbase
14-45 120 in, AQ Scout 111 in, 65 114 in, Track 55.5 in
Length
175 in
Width
68.5 in
Kerb weight
Saloon 23½ cwt, 2632 lb
Predecessor
Talbot 12-30
Successor
Talbot 75
Designer
Georges Roesch
sp
uk

Specification summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Check the linked sources for citations.

More photos

Talbot 14-45
davocano · CC BY 2.0 · source ↗
Talbot 14-45
Steve Glover from Bolton, Lancs., England · CC BY 2.0 · source ↗

Sources

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